Most of you by now already know that I am an Author and my book Blueberry State of Mind, a collection of reflective truths was published in March 2011. What a lot of you do not know is that this book is the story of my life told in a reflective and poetic tone. OK, now with that out of the way we can get to the heart of the matter. Promoting. I like many thought once my book was done people would instantly flock to it. Not true. Oh, many knew I was writing a book of "Life Poetry" and of course they all said the same uniform thing. I cannot wait until it drops because I am going to be the first in line to buy it.Well they all must have gotten tired standing in line because out of the many who were so eager to purchase this book only 3 followed through with it.
Again guess they all got tired of standing behind those 3. But through self discovery and Internet searching I came across some fascinating ways of promoting my book. A lot of people are Internet friendly and know a good read when they see one. The thing is you have to get them to see your book is the perfect book for them to read. Many say go after your genre. I do not believe that is the only way to go.
Yes, I am a writer of "Life Poetry" but I want my book enjoyed by all because it is a universal book and it speaks to everyone. Blueberry State of Mind, a collection of reflective truths is just as the title states. There is something for everyone between the pages of this emotionally driven, inspirational book.
Now upon researching, I found it is harped upon (and yes I do agree) that social media sites are the way to go. So I an fully smack dab in the thick of it on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace to name a few. I love writing and these three mentioned were the obvious places for me to be. I have quite a few friends on these sites and they all love my style of writing. Has it encouraged them to run out and purchase the book? No, but that has not stopped me from still posting and interacting with everyone because eventually the trust will be there along with the interest of the book and thus the buying will begin.
Next twitter. I love me some twitter but you have to constantly become rooted on there and update update update so if you do not have the patience for this sort of thing then either A do not sign up for Twitter or B have someone do your posts for you. Same with Facebook if you cannot post daily on Facebook then either have someone do your stats or give up on face book altogether. (although I do not recommend the latter).
Twitter has been a new love for me. It allows you to seek out people you would have never had the opportunity to reach out too. I have sought out everyone, from stars to poetry lovers to whomever just introducing myself to them, getting the word out about Blueberry State of Mind.
Next is blogging. Oh yes the infamous blogging. I have started a blog (this one). It will be used to introduce my style of writing, my thoughts, information that I have found that will help other Authors. This is a tedious and at times frustrating amount of work and time that has to be put in but in the end it is well worth it. Again the name of the game is "PROMOTING". Introducing the world to "YOU"!
Never rely simply on one of these methods. All of these methods have to be used in conjunction with one another. Also word of mouth. Nothing beats telling the world you are out here. It does not matter if they do not want to hear it, you still must tell them. Hi, I am Missy Smith, Author of Blueberry State of Mind, a collection of reflective truths and from there most people's curiosity will be peaked and the conversation will have begun. There is trial and error with promoting as one never truly know what route to take and how to go about promoting. But with a lot of research and studying other Authors it will eventually come together. The next step in promoting is showing the world your finished product. Always have a copy of your book handy so that you can show them the beauty of it. Nothing beats seeing and feeling the actual product in your potential buyers hands. I also recommend flyer's. You can put whatever you wish on flyer's but make sure it is fun, eye catching and has a sample of what's in your book. Again people want to read everything about you and see just what it is you're writing about before they make that decision to invest their money and time on you and your book.
Again, the Internet is your best friend when it comes to promoting as well as finding out other ways to introduce yourself to the world.
There are many ways to promote. Book signings both in personal and virtual, word of mouth, flyer's, social media sites, friends, co-workers but no matter what road you choose you have to be ready to grind it out because it will not come easy but it will eventually become easier.
You can never go wrong with the way you promote your book, as promoting is what's needed in order for the world to know you are out here and your book is worth reading. If you choose not to promote then your book like many before it will go unnoticed. And do not forget to have your friends tell their friends about your book. Again the more people you have telling others about you and your book the better.
Missy Smith, Author of Blueberry State of Mind, a collection of reflective truths will be featuring more informative information and ideas in upcoming blog post as well as video postings.
Tomorrow's post. The benefits of a press release and how to write one for the Self Published Author.
Creative Luv and Happy Promoting.
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